


need a little sweetness in my life

by sopattable



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Chocolate, Fluff, M/M, lots of chocolate, quite a handful of innuendos and puns but chocolate is hard to work with, this is silliness and cuteness and everything absurd and adorable
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-09
Updated: 2015-03-09
Packaged: 2018-03-17 04:26:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3515348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sopattable/pseuds/sopattable
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>"Last week I made a chocolate that looked like a half-eaten brain.”</i><br/> <br/><i>“And, you’re trying to sell it to me?” Harry asks, scrunching his nose.</i></p><p>  <i>The man shrugs. “First of all, it was one of a kind. Secondly, it’s the same chocolate as the pretty ones. And thirdly…no, I’m not, because I ate it.” He pats his stomach and frowns slightly. “And, it was…actually pretty mediocre. I think I forgot an ingredient.”</i></p><p> An AU where Louis works at a chocolate shop, and Harry ends up getting more than he ever expected.</p>
            </blockquote>





	need a little sweetness in my life

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Velvetoscar](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Velvetoscar/gifts).



> Hey! I hope you enjoy this little fic :) I made sure to include all five boys as requested, and just modified the prompt ever-so-slightly because it was already after Valentine's Day when I got the prompt! Shouldn't take away from it :) Lots of love <3
> 
> Also, I feel like this fic probably needs a sequel :) Perhaps someday!

The smell of chocolate wafts through the door.

 

As Harry steps inside, he breathes in the rich, sweet air. He often forgets just how good fresh chocolate smells, filling the space with its scent, and he closes his eyes to inhale deeply. Upon opening his eyes, he is met with a beautiful sight. At the counter, looking bored is a man, eyes deep as chocolate, face as much a work of art as a hand-crafted truffle. His hair falls in a way that somehow seems both lazy and sophisticated. The perfect amount of beard caresses his jaw, highlighting his high cheekbones. Of all the things appetizing in the shop, this man may actually come before the chocolates. 

 

Breaking him from his thoughts, a perky voice greets him with an enthusiastic, “Hello! Want a chocolate?” Harry turns to see a petite brunet with bright blue eyes. “Uh, sure,” he responds, tearing his eyes from the attractive man at the counter. He reaches to the plate before him, and tentatively takes a chocolate.

 

“I see you’ve found Zayn,” the young man quips, gesturing towards the counter. “Yes, a stunning specimen, but I can tell you that he is frankly _useless_ today thanks to a nasty hangover. Looks like you’re stuck with me to show you around.” As if on cue, the man at the counter lets out a sigh, and presses his hand to his temple in a grimace. “He can’t stand the smell of chocolate when he’s hungover,” the other man explains. “Best thing that ever happened to me, I tell ya.” 

 

Harry laughs politely, before taking a bite of the chocolate the man had handed him. “Oh this is… great!” he exclaims, as the taste hits his tongue. “Really, really nice, actually. It’s rich and smooth and is that —“

 

“Caramel? Yep. With a touch of sea salt, I believe,” the man nods enthusiastically. “We make them here. Best in the city.”

 

Harry lets the taste swirl on his tongue for another moment before speaking. “Did _you_ make it?” he asks, considering the rich taste further.

 

“Depends,” the man says slowly. “Was it pretty? Mr. Hangover usually makes those. Mine tend to go in the boxes that people don’t get to see before they buy.” He pauses. “Speaking of which…uh, could I interest you in a box of chocolates?”

 

Harry lets out a laugh. “Maybe,” he says slowly. “I’m not quite sure what I’m looking for. See, my sister just got dumped, and sent me to fetch her chocolate, because she says, and I quote, ‘Chocolate heals everything.’” Harry stops to consider this idea for a moment. “Do you stand by those claims with your chocolate, or should I go elsewhere?”

 

“Depends on what you want to heal,” the man quips immediately. “Broken heart? Usually. Shaving off those last ten pounds, usually not. It’s not really a catch-all kind of situation.”

 

“Well, broken heart it is,” Harry smiles. “So you’ll have to show me your best supplies for that.”

 

The man nods, and leads Harry to the far wall of the store. “So,” he says, “On this end we have the truffles, pralines, and other fancy chocolates. Though delicious, they’re usually best savoured, rather than devoured in one sitting. I usually recommend them as gifts, and hope that the customer doesn’t actually see how hideous some of my creations are. Last week I made a chocolate that looked like a half-eaten brain.”

 

“And, you’re trying to sell it to me?” Harry asks, scrunching his nose.

 

The man shrugs. “First of all, it was one of a kind. Secondly, it’s the same chocolate as the pretty ones. And thirdly…no, I’m not, because I ate it.” He pats his stomach and frowns slightly. “And, it was…actually pretty mediocre. I think I forgot an ingredient.”

 

Harry finds himself giggling way too hard for the circumstances. The man reaches into a display case, and grabs a chocolate. “Zayn made this one,” he says, gesturing towards the attractive boy at the counter. “But I mixed the chocolate. Hopefully it’s better than the braiiiin.” Harry doesn’t know what the brain tasted like, but he concurs that this one is quite delicious.

 

The store has a wide-range of options, from giant bars that are almost too heavy to pick up, to chocolate covered nuts (the latter of which Harry puts in the shopping basket conveniently provided to him). As the man shows Harry around, he gets a weird sense of familiarity, almost as if he’s met him before. It’s several minutes into his visit before Harry finally says, “This is going to sound weird, but do we know each other?”

 

The man cocks his head, and stares intently at Harry’s face. “I’m not quite sure,” he says. “But if I had to guess a name for you it would be….Harry?” 

 

Harry’s jaw drops. “Yeah… yeah, that’s right,” he says slowly. “So either I really look like a Harry or we do know each other in some way.”

 

The other man nods. “No, no, this is familiar to me. Did you ever… play football, maybe? Maybe we played on a team together or something?”

 

Harry laughs. “No, not football. Unless it was casual….” He freezes. Suddenly images are coming back to him from summers he spent at summer camp.He clearly remembers an older boy who was funny and brash, but also somewhat sweet, and how he had such a big crush on him. He’d only met him that one summer, but he was the first boy who Harry really, truly acknowledged he’d had a crush on. “Wait. Are you…Lewis?” he says carefully, and the man’s eyes widen.

 

“Yep! S’right,” the man says. “Go by Louis now though,” he adds, the second syllable an “ee” sound, rather than an s. “But…yes. We met at camp, didn’t we? You were a cute little fella. Rubbish at football, if I recall.”

 

“Well, I’m still rubbish at it, and I didn’t understand the game back then, so I imagine I was,” Harry agrees, head still spinning at the fact that he’d met this charming man before. “What are you up to now, anyway? Anything exciting? Been back to XUK?”

 

Louis shakes his head. “No, um, actually I just went the once. Mainly just working here, I guess - making ugly yet usually delicious chocolates. Still play a lot of footie on the side though. What about you?”

 

“Been working at a bakery, actually,” Harry tells him with a smile. “They’ve finally let me do stuff in the backroom making pasties and bread and stuff! I work with a bunch of old ladies but they’re really nice. It’s fun.”

 

“Nice, nice,” Louis says with a nod. “Ever use chocolate in your baking?”

 

“Yes!” Harry exclaims enthusiastically, before frowning slightly. “I’ve actually been working on making a chocolate croissant, but haven’t gotten it quite right yet…” 

 

“Well, I’d be glad to help you stuff chocolate in some pastry anytime if you want help,” Louis says with a wink before thrusting a spoon at Harry. “Here, taste!” he exclaims.

 

“What is this that I’m tasting?” Harry asks, giving Louis a skeptical look. “You throw a spoon at me, and I’m just supposed to accept it?”

 

Louis rolls his eyes. “We’re in a chocolate shop. I’m not going to feed you something gross.”

 

Harry considers this, then nods, accepting the spoon and gently placing it in his mouth. A swell of cold creamy sweetness hits his tongue, and it’s delicious - truly delicious. It might be the best ice cream he’s ever tasted, and that’s saying something, because he went through a stage where he just _had_ to try every ice cream at the grocery. And, if he lets out a little moan in delight well…

 

Louis is staring at Harry, eyebrow raised. “You okay there bud? Ice cream edible? While we encourage pleasure in this shop, there are _some_ _kinds…”_

 

Harry swallows the last of the ice cream, and smiles at Louis. “It was creamy, and delicious _,_ ” he tells him. “Good choice. I’ll have to grab some on my way out.” Louis continues to smirk, and Harry refuses to acknowledge any state of embarrassment regarding his unfortunate noise, though he feels a blush rising on his cheeks. Distractedly, he steps back to admire a small glass pot, adorned with a red bow, and topped with what looks like a fancy paint brush. “What’s this?” he asks, cocking his head.

 

“That?” Louis asks, and lets out a giggle. “Well, that’s Chocolate Body Paint, that is. Quite popular in…certain crowds.”

 

Harry scrunches his nose, intrigued. “Does it taste good?” he asks cautiously, and Louis laughs.

 

“Yeah, it’s pretty good,” he says. “Me and Zayn tried it once on a slow day. Can’t complain. Although,” he adds, “It’s actually _real_ chocolate, so the instructions say you can’t put it on the…more scandalous body parts. Which, you’d think would be the whole point?” Harry nods intently, trying to distract his mind from thinking about what scandalous body parts and Louis would entail. He’s almost successful in distracting himself from this when Louis adds, “I mean, wouldn’t it be great if your dick tasted like chocolate? That’s the dream, man.”

 

Harry chokes a little. He’s pretty sure that the ‘your’ was meant in a hypothetical, ‘to whomever you happen to be speaking’ kind of way, but he’s vaguely uncomfortable and quite…warm. Would it be weird to take off his coat now after having been here for nearly twenty minutes? How did he even stare at Zayn when he walked into the shop, when this wonderful, cheeky, dream of his existed. 

 

“You okay?” Louis asks, a sly smile on his face. Harry’s eyes grow wide. 

 

“Yeah, yeah…I’m good,” he says slowly. “Just…good. Yeah.” Harry is so eloquent. It’s a good thing he doesn’t do public speaking for a living. Apparently being around Louis makes that worse so that’s…fun.

 

Louis shows him a few more items which are interesting, though not as interesting as Louis himself, before paushing outside a door. He glances around the shop for a second, and looks at Zayn at the counter. He appears half asleep. “You know,” Louis says coyly. “We don’t usually let people back here, just on special occasions… but the store’s pretty dead and I need to give the chocolate a stir anyway, so…wanna see?”

 

Harry definitely wants to see. Harry definitely wants to see anything that will allow him to spend a little bit more time with this vibrant and exciting young man. Part of him is telling him he should probably check-out and return home to Gemma and her sadness, but… _Louis. “_ Oh I’d love to see whatever you have to show me!”

 

Louis snickers gently. “Oh, I have lots to show you,” he laughs gently as he reaches for the door.

 

As if on cue, the bell above the shop door rings, and a young man walks in. His nose is red, and he looks rather windblown. “I need help,” he exclaims. Zayn groggily looks up from the counter and shakes his head, while Louis gestures to him. 

 

“Come on bro,” he says to Zayn. “You gotta help the customers sometime.”

 

Zayn blinks twice, and resumes looking like a god. “May I help you?” he asks, and the other customer bounds over. Louis watches carefully, as the two interact.

 

“Yeah, my uh girlfriend, she’s had a rough day, so I thought I’d buy her something nice. Any suggestions?”

 

Zayn pauses. “Yeah, everything’s pretty good,” he says with a nod and a small smile. 

 

“Anything specific?”

 

“…No, not really. It’s all good.”

 

Louis still has his hand on the doorknob to the backroom, but Harry can see that he’s itching to interfere. With a sigh Louis lets go, and strolls over. “Does your girlfriend prefer milk, or dark? Is she into truffles, or solid chocolate? Does she have any allergies?” Louis asks, his questions rapid-fire, clearly rehearsed, and without passion. “If you look on this wall here we have a variety of samplers at different price-ranges that should meet your needs. Sound good?”

 

The man looks and cocks his head. “Do you have any _specific_ suggestions?” he asks, and Louis fidgets. Harry’s not entirely certain what’s going on, but his suspicions that Louis was flirting with him are getting stronger and stronger. Regardless, he’s not sure whether he should give up and try to purchase the chocolates for his sister, or if Louis will be back. He takes a step forward towards the till, and Louis waves his hand backwards. “I’ll be with you in a moment, sir,” he says quickly, before speaking again to the man. 

 

“I was just wondering if the tour was still going on,” Harry asks gently, keeping his voice even, “Or if I should just make my purchases.”

 

“Yep, I’ll be with you in a moment. Just wait.”

 

“Tour?” the man asks, his face lighting up like a puppy dog. “Like, seeing where you guys make stuff? That’s so cool! Can I join?”

 

“It’s for paying customers only,” Louis tells him, something he had not told Harry.

 

“How much does it cost?”

 

“5 pounds.”

 

“Oh sweet, this sounds great - put me down for one under the name ‘Liam Payne’.” The man reaches into his wallet, and Louis freezes.

 

“Oh, did I say five?” he asks cocking his head. “I meant 25.”

 

“A bit pricey but…”

 

“Oh wait, I forgot - the tour is all full-up.” 

 

“With one person?” Liam asks, and Louis frowns.

 

“No, there are more.”

 

The man looks suspicious. “…Where?”

 

“They’re around.”

 

Harry looks suspiciously at the two of them. “Um, you know,” he says slowly. “If he wants to do the tour so badly, I don’t mind. I need to get home to my sister anyway.”

 

“No!” Louis exclaims. “I mean uh…there are no refunds.”

 

“What about exchanges? We’d just trade places. That should be okay, right?”

 

“No exchanges. Sorry. Store policy.”

 

“But what if…”

 

Louis folds his hands together sadly. “I’m so sorry, but once you’ve paid, there’s nothing we can do.”

 

“But I haven’t paid—“ Harry is a moron. Harry needs to keep his mouth shut and realize when a cute boy is trying to get him into a backroom filled with chocolate and who knows what other delicious. He doesn’t quite realize this thought until after the words are out of his mouth, and Louis lets out a deep sigh.

 

“Well, looks like there may be room for you on the tour after all.”

 

There really isn’t much of a tour. Harry can’t help but be suspicious that Louis wanted to spend some time alone with him, especially after the body chocolate incident, but Liam is like a puppy dog, bounding around the back-room looking at everything. Louis looks vaguely annoyed. 

 

“No running on the tour please,” he murmurs, glancing at Harry. 

 

“Sorry, but this is all so neat!” Liam says and Louis just nods. 

 

“Here’s the pot of milk chocolate, and the dark and the white, and the moulds, and here’s a…palate that we use when we transport chocolate to other stores. Over there is where we make caramel and other fillings and that’s about it. ” Louis rushes along, pointing rapidly, and then reopens the door to the shop. “Thanks so much for coming! I hope you enjoyed! Lots available for purchase in the main store.” 

 

Liam freezes, eyes wide. “That’s it?” he asks, his forehead scrunching. “That’s the whole tour?”

 

“Yep, ‘fraid so,” Louis says, giving an attempt at a sad face. “That’s all the time we have for today.” Liam isn’t really having it, however, and just stands, face wrinkled in confusion. 

 

“You’re joking, right?” Liam asks.

 

They’d been in the backroom for a grand total of 120 seconds, and Harry raises an eyebrow towards Louis. He takes a step towards the pot of milk chocolate. “So, is this hot?” he asks gently, and Louis is quickly by his side.

 

“The pot is, yes, very, so be careful. Wouldn’t want you to get burnt,” he says, gently nudging Harry backwards. “But I know what to do, and how to stir this.” Louis pulls a set of gloves on, and grabs the stirring stick in the pot. “It’s actually thicker than you’d think, and harder to stir, but it smells…”

 

Suddenly a voice rings out, “Louis, is that you?”

 

Louis pales. “Yes?” he answers gesturing Harry and Liam towards the door. “Just stirring some chocolate.”

 

“He’s giving us a tour!” Liam says, and Louis buries his face in his hands. 

 

A blond man steps around the corner, eyebrow raised, “Louis…what are you doing?” he asks, glancing between Liam and Harry.

 

Louis meets the man’s steady gaze. “Well, Niall,” he says, “What do you think we’re doing in the backroom? What is a backroom usually for?”

 

“Well, with you Tomlinson, I’m never really sure,” Niall responds evenly. He cocks his head. “Did they touch anything?”

 

“Nope.” Liam puts down the mould in his hand.

 

“Put that in the sink. Did they break anything?”

 

“Nope.”

 

“Did they —“

 

“You always told me to give the customers what they wanted, and in this case, they wanted a tour. They _are_ paying customers after all.”

 

“…what have they purchased?” Niall asks, still skeptical.

 

“Only checked one of them out so far!” Louis says quickly with a wink, “But I’m thinking big profits from these two, am I right?” As far as Harry knows, neither of them has purchased anything yet, and he is both endeared by Louis, and a little terrified by the whole situation. Part of him wants to turn invisible and hide in the corner until the whole exchange is finished. When Louis turns to him to confirm the potential sales, he just gives a weak smile and a nod.

 

Niall continues to stare at Louis, face unreadable, until he bursts into gales of laughter. “I almost got you there, Tommo, didn’t I? I don’t want to know what you were doing back here but —just get back to work, okay? I don’t want any weird shit back here or _I’ll_ get in trouble, alright?”

 

Louis laughs too. “Fine,” he says. “But if I’m going down, so are you.”

 

“Isn’t that always the way it goes,” Niall agrees with a fond, but slightly frustrated smile. He shakes his head before saying, “Have a good day, boys,” and exiting through a door in the back. 

 

Louis turns to Harry and Liam. “This is what happens when your best bro gets promoted to supervisor,” he says, shrugging. “I can basically do anything I want.”He turns towards the door. “But the tour _is_ over now, so I’ll have to see to you in the shop.”

 

Harry is amused as he returns to the shop, followed by a cheeky Louis and a perplexed Liam. Checking his watch, he realizes he’s been there for nearly an hour, and should probably get back to Gemma. He grabs the basket he’d left outside the door, and is heading to check-out when Louis approaches him.

 

“Anything else I can get you? Anything you want to try or do? Sorry about that tour thing - I just wanted to give you a special experience for fun, and I guess that backfired.”

 

“No, no, it’s all fine,” Harry says, smiling at Louis, still generally confused by the whole situation. “I was just thinking that I really need to bring my sister that chocolate. You know, broken heart and all?”

 

Louis nods. “Understood,” he says. “Sure there’s no last minute things to look at?”

 

Harry stops to think. There might be things left around the store to look at, but mainly he wants to leave with Louis’ number, or at least a better chance of seeing him again. He’s just…almost magical, and he’s not ready to leave just yet. He needs to savour these last few minutes and make a plan. “Actually,” he says slowly. “I think I’ll look around just a little longer, just in case I missed something.”

 

“Great!” Louis says. He looks over to Liam standing at the counter, basket in hand, and sees Zayn reaching over the other side to sort some chocolate. “I’m just going to ring this other customer out, and then I’ll be back to help if you need anything!”

 

Harry nods as Louis rushes off, and looks over the items in his basket. It contains chocolate covered nuts, a massive chocolate bar, a medium box of truffles, two smaller chocolate bars, a chocolate covered apple, a sampler of pralines and… oh yes, Harry was going to get that carton of ice cream too, that was simply divine. He can’t help but wonder if Louis is simply an outstanding salesperson, having convinced him to purchase what must be well over 50 pounds worth of chocolate, when he’d only intended to make a small purchase. 

 

Harry reaches into his coat pocket to check his wallet to see if he should pay with cash or card, when he fumbles frantically. Where he usually can feel the snug fit of his wallet there’s nothing. Absolutely nothing. He checks his other pocket just in case, and it comes up empty as well, as do all his pants pockets. There’s a very valid, very real, chance that Harry left his wallet at home, and that the only money he has on him, is the emergency ten pound note he keeps in his sleeve pocket. Shit. Shit shit shit shit. He looks across the store to Louis who is cheerfully checking out Liam’s purchases, and to the other register, where Zayn is now standing ready to serve.

 

Harry has a of couple options - he can leave his basket and run home to grab his wallet, or buy a few things now and come back or… everything is embarrassing. What kind of guy goes shopping without his wallet? Can he really face Louis, who was expecting such a good sale without his wallet, or his dignity? Fuck, Harry is so embarrassed, and would be even if he hadn’t spent the past hour flirting with the sales associate. This is not good. This is not good at all.

 

Okay. He’ll grab the ice cream for Gemma with his ten pound note, run home, and come back. Everything will be fine. Maybe. Oh god.

 

Things don’t quite go according to plan, however, when he asks Zayn to grab him the carton of ice cream, and Zayn offers to ring it up. As he stares into Zayn’s deep eyes, he finds himself saying “Uh, yeah! Sure!” and grabbing the nuts and one small chocolate bar from his basket. And, when Zayn asks, “Is that all for today,” Harry looks over at Louis, who is still helping Liam (who apparently has quite a lot of questions), and desperately wants to say “No,” but all he can do is weakly murmur, “Yes, thank-you.” When he’s handed the bag of purchases, he looks to his basket on the floor, back to Louis, and, while he 100% intends to go and talk to Louis and say goodbye and that he’ll be back, that plan doesn’t quite happen. He feels so awkward that, for a reason unbeknownst to him, his feet begin to carry him towards the door and straight out of it without so much as a wave.

 

Harry is a bloody idiot. By the time he realizes this, it has been 0.2 seconds since he walked out the door, yet it is already, in his expert opinion, too late to turn around and go back. So, with that, Harry heads back to his mum’s house begrudgingly, carrying only the tub of ice cream, a small chocolate bar, and a packet of chocolate covered nuts, feeling quite ashamed and sorry for himself. As he enters the house, he sees Gemma sitting on the couch, her face curved into a frown. She’s wrapped herself in a blanket, and is staring at the telly, which is playing shitty reality tv. 

 

“Hey Gems,” he says gently, and Gemma looks up.

 

“Good,” she says sadly, “You’re here. I needed some chocolate and maybe some company too.” She reaches out, making grabby hands for Harry’s chocolate shop bag. “In news today, love is dead.”

 

Harry nods sombrely and flops down on the couch beside Gemma. “Love _is_ dead,” he agrees. “I met a boy, and it could have been something, but I forgot my wallet. In fact, if I hadn’t forgotten my wallet, you probably would have had more chocolate too.”

 

Gemma makes a face. “I can always use more chocolate,” she says, pouting slightly. “But a boy? Tell me about this.”

 

Harry shakes his head. “No, no Gems, this is about you. I shouldn’t have even said anything. We’re gonna feed you chocolate and paint your nails and do your hair and wear face-masks until you feel better, okay? And we’ll watch…Celebrity Big Brother reruns?” he asks, scrunching his nose as he stares at the TV screen. “Really, Gems?”

 

Gemma shakes her head defiantly. “No that all sounds boring, and I’ll just end up crying the whole time ‘cause I’m sad. Humour me. Tell me what happened. Distract me.”

 

“So, I went to the chocolate store, and there was this _really_ hot guy at the cash…”

 

“Ooh! And it’s him?”

 

“Well, no.” Harry continues on with the story, sharing every detail, glossing over the more embarrassing parts. “And then, of course, when I went to pay, all I had in my pocket was a ten pound note! I had to _excuse_ myself, and pay for the few things I could, while running out of there like a dog with its tail between its legs. So obviously, I can’t ever go back ever again.” He sighs, mournfully, but Gemma stares at him.

 

“Um, why not?” she asks. “Go back. Get that boy, and prove to me that love isn’t completely dead. Tonight. Before the store closes.” 

 

Harry goes to protest, but it’s clear that Gemma isn’t budging on the matter. He sighs and grabs his coat and checks three times to make sure he has his wallet. “Don’t eat all the ice cream?” he suggests as he opens the door. “It’s really good.”

 

“It’s mine now!” Gemma cackles holding it close, and Harry really can’t blame her.

 

—

 

Harry rushes back into the store at 7:50. He plans to run to the till, when he instead smacks right into a hard body. “Ah shit,” he murmurs, as he sees who he’s run into. 

 

“Oh, hello…” Louis says, gently, brow wrinkling. “Didn’t expect to see you back here today.”

 

“Well, I’m sorry,” Harry says slowly. “For running into you… and also for leaving without buying things earlier. It wasn’t my intention. I didn’t mean to waste your time.”

 

“You didn’t waste my time.” Louis tells Harry, brushing himself off and pulling himself to his feet. “It’s boring working here. There’s only so much to do. I even tried coming up with chocolate _jokes_ to amuse customers, and, nothing. I’ve got nothing.”

 

Harry frowns. “Any potential in chocolate moose?” he asks, pulling himself up, and Louis shakes his head.

 

“Too classic. No one laughs.” 

 

“I’d laugh,” Harry points out, but Louis continues.

 

“And since this is a _specialty_ chocolate store, we don’t have any of those classic chocolate bars, so I’m stuck with like fudge…”

 

“Don’t hold a fudge against me for this but..”

 

Louis looks horrified. “And uh, truffle…”

 

“Don’t get in a kertruffle.”

 

“And…fondue…” Harry opens his mouth as if to speak, but Louis continues on. “You are _awful_ at this,” he exclaims. “Terrible. Dismal.” He tries to frown, but his mouth dips into a slight smile. Harry is encouraged.

 

“I’m fond-uh-ue?” Harry tries, dragging the word out as he breaks into a grin. “Get it? Fond of you?” 

 

Louis lets out a choked laugh. “I’d suggest that we use that as next year’s Valentine’s Day slogan, but I’m pretty sure I’d get fired.” He shakes his head slightly, as if to return to his previous thought. “Anyway, point was, my job is so boring a lot of the time, but today, it kind of wasn’t. Even though you didn’t buy all the stuff we picked out, it was still brilliant. So you don’t have to apologize.” He pauses. “I’m just glad you came back.”

 

Harry bites his lip to hold back a smile. “I did bring my wallet though,” he says evenly. “So if all that stuff is still around, I can grab it. Wouldn’t want you to be out a sale.” 

 

Louis nods gently. “Um, yeah, I haven’t put it away just yet. Was my last thing to do before I finish closing. You’re in luck.”

 

“Well, thanks,” Harry tells him, honestly grateful. “You know, you really didn’t have to.”

 

“I know,” Louis says simply. “But I wanted to.” He falls silent as he rings the first few items through, and Harry considers the whole situation. Sure, he met Louis when he was a child, yet after only spending an hour with him today, he just wants to spend more and more time. Everything feels so unfinished, 

 

“Maybe this sounds silly, but, would you maybe want to grab a drink or something after this? I mean, I don’t even know if you’re single or anything, but I thought that maybe, just maybe, there was something going on here?” Louis is looking up at Harry now, and Harry swallows heavily as Louis’ blue eyes meet his. He doesn’t speak, so Harry continues on. “I mean, I don’t know, it could be nothing, and hell you could be straight or whatever, but you’re really cute and nice and charming and even if you’re not interested I could at least buy you a drink to make-up for the stress from today? Maybe? Or I could leave..”

 

“Harry,” Louis says slowly, as Harry continues to ramble nonsensically. “Harry.”

 

 Harry trails off mid-sentence and gives a small forced smile, heart pounding in his chest. “Yeah?”

 

“Yeah, well, I guess if we grab a drink, it makes today a little less…bittersweet…” Louis says slowly, face unreadable, before cracking a grin, and Harry chortles in laughter and from pure and utter relief. “Yeah, yeah I’d love to,” Louis says again, his smile lighting up the room. “And by the way, yeah, I’m single. And yeah, not straight.”

 

“Yeah, I didn’t think so!” Harry exclaims, “But sometimes I’m _really rubbish_ at reading the room.”

 

Louis chuckles. “Not this time.” He reads out the total for Harry’s purchase, and hands Harry the card-reader to pay. “Now, I’m the last one here, so I just need to quickly re-close the till, and check a few things, if you don’t mind waiting for me?”

 

“Not at all,” Harry murmurs, not caring at all because somehow, ( _somehow!)_ he has managed to fix things and only make a partial arse of himself. As Louis finishes closing the till, and goes to flip the “open” sign to “closed”, Harry smiles to himself, thinking about how things went so much better than planned. It’s nice, and maybe he was wrong and love isn’t dead. Louis is nice, and lovely, and makes him laugh, and this could be the start of something quite…sweet. 

 

“Ready to go?” Louis asks with a smile, reaching for Harry’s arm. Harry grins.

 

“Ready,” he says, hardly believing his luck.

 

As they head out the door, Harry peeks in his bag to see a jar of body chocolate. “Louis, I didn’t buy…” he says, confused, but Louis smirks.

 

“I know,” he says cheekily. “It’s on me.” 

 

Harry might be the luckiest guy alive.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I love you and your comments :) Please feel free to share.


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